Three buses a day connect Tetouan and Oued Laou (Dh25, two hours). There’s also one bus
from Chefchaouen (Dh20, 90 minutes), which continues along the coast to El-Jebha (Dh35, five
hours); the return service leaves El-Jebha early in the morning. However, at Oued Laou it
dumps you out by the souq, leaving you a 45-minute walk or Dh5 grand-taxi ride to town.
Grands taxis run from beside the mosque in Oued Laou to Tetouan (Dh30, one hour) via Dar
Ackoubaa (Dh15, 20 minutes), where you can pick up a passing taxi for Chefchaouen.
TARGA TO EL-JEBHA
This stretch of the coast is very dramatic, and still remote. Pine-clad hills are interspersed with
valleys of cultivated fields that roll down to the sea and beaches of grey pebbles. However, the
coastal road linking Tetouan to El-Jebha was under construction at the time of research, and is
likely to be completed in 2012. Already there are massive development projects underway such
as the Golf Paradise Resort and the Marina Playa Vista. These will contain luxury hotels and
apartments.
Seventeen kilometres southeast of Oued Laou, Targa is a little village with a history of
piracy. High atop an outcrop of black rock, a stone fort overlooks the village, built during the
Spanish protectorate. The 13th-century mosque is associated with a local saint.
About 18km southeast of Targa, in the wide valley of Oued Bouchia, are the twin villages of
Steha (an administrative centre) and Bou-Ahmed . Set back from the coast, the latter is the
end point for a long-distance trek from Chefchaouen ( Click here ). There’s an interesting souq
every Tuesday, and a basic camping area in summer.
From here the road follows the coast on a splendid roller-coaster ride to the blue and white
town of El-Jebha , 52km to the southeast. The rugged coastline forms a number of
breathtaking and secluded bays – worth exploring if you have your own transport. While the
road is under construction, there are no buses plying this route and few taxis will undertake it.
Each Tuesday, the local souq draws Rif farmers from the surrounding villages. At El-Jebha you
can turn south into the Rif to Issaguen, or continue on the new coastal road to Al-Hoceima.
Al-Hoceima
POP 103,000
Al-Hoceima is a great place to spend a few days. Quiet, safe, relaxing and hassle-free, this
modern seaside resort is full of proud and genial Berbers with a surprisingly independent,
Western outlook, far more than any other town in the north. In fact, if the northern Berbers had
their own country, this would be its capital. There is far more of the Berber tongue, Tarifit,
spoken than Spanish.
Founded by the Spanish as Villa Sanjuro, the town was built as a garrison after the Rif Wars
in the early 20th century; rebel Abd al-Krim operated nearby. Independence brought the name
change to Al-Hoceima, but Spanish influence remains strong in language, architecture and
business.
In recent years many of Al-Hoceima’s émigrés have returned and have ploughed money into
the town, particularly into its booming tourism industry. The town is being revamped with the
wide Place Mohammed VI given new fountains, a sweeping corniche built along the coast and
new hotels opening. The pretty Place du Rif Offline map Google map with its Mauresque buildings,
is slated to be turned into a pedestrian zone. Best of all, the wonderful National Park of Al-